Mud, Mud, Monash and Glorious Mud

Gee, it was wet down at the Brunswick Street Oval, oops I mean the W T Peterson Community Oval. Mud, mud everywhere prompting Luke Ablett, who didn’t play, to Tweet that the day reminded him of playing down at Drouin in the under twelves. It reminded me of working with cattle in the winter when the yards would be ankle deep in “you know what” soaked mud.

As I arrived I noticed Dave, our volunteer ressie goal umpire, trying to get out of the mud behind the goals. He was standing right up against the oval fence as there is a paved drain running along here. I thought he would have been well advised to jump the fence and umpire from the crowd. He couldn’t have been worse than some of the goal umpires we….

I was late to the Foundation lunch, another packed room. What a club we now have. One hundred and eleven foundation members!!!! I missed the food, hurray, but not the speeches. If you were not there you missed out. Harmsie and Tony “Tinsel” Wilson gave the best sports day speeches I have heard.

Tinsel played a few games with the Reds but was on the list at Hawthorn for a while. Hawthorn actually delisted Justin Leppitsch instead of Tony. Ray Wilson, Tony’s dad played in the 1971 Hawthorn premiership and was the last person to get three Brownlow votes at the BSO. Ray won a bed in 1966 for getting the most number of Brownlow votes awarded to a Hawthorn player. Tinsel pointed out that he was probably conceived in a bed, won out on the BSO.

Bought five tickets in the first goal sweep. Mattie K and Max Ellis twice and they lined up as dual full forwards. This was looking good, more smackaroos coming my way.

What about the game itself? Not much to say really as it was a wrestle from go to woe. We kicked 2 3 to zip in the first quarter and that was the end of the match. They kicked a goal in the second quarter when we conceded a point. We kicked five behinds to nothing in the third quarter. Two early goals in the last quarter saw out the day.

It resembled a game of British Bulldog, with pack after pack of hard at it players throwing themselves in for the ball. Several times Rory looked like the last bloke standing as he would grab the ball and take on as many Monash players possible. Parko controlled the back half and now must be in the running for the C Grade centre half back position. Two Dads bashed the ball forward at all the ruck contests. Josh was our best. He doesn’t have to ever get out of a jog as he is always where he should be.

Jimmy O’Reilly played up forward and kicked several goals (missed a few he should have nailed). He was the dominating forward and I don’t want to bang on about the FACT that I have been going on and on and on and on, all season, about the need to have at least one big forward target. Why this move is not tried regularly beats me.

Scottie Cations caught my eye in the first quarter when he went on a sideways lead between the Monash defenders. He saw the space and dropped precisely into it, at exactly the right time. Beautiful to watch and it reminded me of surgery. Most of you know I am a dentist and I love raising a flap or two, doing what is required and then suturing up. Done well, it’s just neat. Those of you who sew or are quilters know what I am talking about. Scottie did a Valuers course and works in property but he should have been a surgeon. I now name him “The Scalpel”. Come finals time, he will slice them up.

Lastly, Harry Topp, suffered a nasty facial injury. I am sure he has suffered a broken jaw. Harry has had a terrible run with serious injuries this year and I wish him the best. These young men put on a wonderful show for us all each week but there is some risk involved.

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